Back to Work

Well, did you think I had abandoned my blog?! NEVER!! I just went back to work :( In reality it has not been so bad. I have been fortunate to get routine deliveries so I can ease back into the rhythm of things.

Just in case you don't know I am now a Labor and Delivery Nurse at our local hospital here in Renton. It is a LDRP (Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum) Unit. We average approx. 350 births a month. I am trained in postpartum care and as of December I now do deliveries too. It has been great fun and I love all that I do. Some days we have sad stories but on the whole it is a happy experience with healthy people and babies. I never knew nursing could be so great. I only work 3, 8hr shifts a week. You can't beat that!

See that Nurse, that would be me on a normal work day. But in this picture I am the one writhing in bed and that is my co-worker taking good care of me.

The Gilman family has tried to make changes to accommodate the fuel crunch. I have given up driving my Suburban and am driving Steven's little Mazda. Brian's office has allowed him to work from home every Monday and Friday and the other days he car pools with a friend. And we are looking at family vacation options here in our local area.

This is the little car of Steven's I am driving. (I found a picture of Steven to post! ah, ha!) He can't drive it anyway till he is 16.

I have been hearing the prophet's words on preparedness echo in my ears lately and I am feeling the crunch! It reminds me of when our State President was really pushing preparedness when we lived in Mississippi. That was the season Katrina hit. I am REALLY feeling the crunch!!

This is Seth and me in the shelter during Katrina. Seth was 13 months old and it was HORRIBLE HOT!! He was so miserable. Plus, there was no water, so that's why I have the greasy hair pulled back in a ponytail!

In all of the things we are suppose to have ready, my advice to you is to remember your spiritual preparedness, cause above all that is what will get you through the pearly gates when you don't survive the large tidal wave....

Well, I don't want to end on a sour note so here are those pictures of Brian and Steven going out on the Scout camp out. I will let Brian tell the story about them...

This is Brian, the Dad...Here we are the morning we went fishing. We are eating the ever popular staple of oatmeal and hot cocoa. Mmmmmm. It wasn't too bad of an evening in tents. I think it was about 50 degrees that morning.

This is me, James and Steven out on the boat. It was us three, Scott Birdsell and Keith who owned the boat. As we motored out to the spot, a Bald Eagle swooped down and was flying around us. Talk about motivational!


Contrary to what my Father in Law thinks, I can catch fish. Here is one of five (the limit) of Rainbow Trout. I cleaned them later on and unfortunately lost one as I was cleaning it. Seriously thought about jumping in after it. Grilled them up when we got home and must say they were pretty tasty. Dad out.......

A couple who blogs together, Stays together! Till the next post, loves and hugs!

Brian's "I Am"

Got this from Kathi and she was mad that it took me about 5 minutes to do:

I AM.....

I Am: loyal

I Think: too much

I Know: things usually work out

I Want: security for my family

I Have: a good life

I Wish: I had no bills

I Hate: pettiness

I Miss: my family

I Fear: not being able to provide for my family

I Feel: good, nada nada nada na

I Hear: not so well

I Smell: not often

I Crave: sushi sometimes

I Search: for answers

I wonder: if it is all true

I Regret: stupid decision I made in the army

I Love: my wife

I Listen: not often enough

I Confuse: my wife

I Ache: more often than I use too

I Care: for my friends

I Always: am thinking

I Am Not: a liar

I Believe: in my country

I Dance: not often enough

I Sing: to Billy Joel

I Cry: too much

I Don't Always: stop and listen

I Fight: with my 9 year old

I write: the songs that make the whole world sing….

I Win: not as often as I’d like

I Lose: less often than I think

I Never: turn my back on a friend

I Can Usually Be Found: in my man cave

I Desire: a new truck

I Need: nothing

I Am Happy About: my life….

I AM...

I stole this off of a friends Blog. I thought it was fun! I told Brian to do it too and post it, we'll see if he does. Anyway, see if you discover something new about me. I know I did doing it.

I AM.....

I Am: a child of God

I Think: my kids are great

I Know: I am forgiven

I Want: my children to succeed

I Have: a great husband

I Wish: for lower gas prices

I Hate: cleaning the house (it just gets messy again)

I Miss: my mommy and dad too

I Fear: failing my family

I Feel: content

I Hear: my dog snoring (or is it my husband)

I Smell: baby diapers

I Crave: chocolate

I Search: for meaningful friendships

I Wonder: if I can endure to the end

I Regret: not going on a mission

I Love: evenings around campfires

I am Scared: of masked men wielding a chainsaw

I Listen: to The Backyardigans…a lot

I Confuse: my kids names (who names their kids with the same beginning letter anyway?)

I Ache: in my back (bad posture, out of shape? Just need to see the Chiropractor)

I Care: if my husband is proud of me

I Always: look for the stars at night (not out that often in WA)

I Am Not: in the PTA (PTSA) just not that kind of mom

I Believe: in eternal salvation

I Dance: who has time to dance with 5 kids?

I Sing: silly songs to the kids

I Cry: when my feelings get hurt

I Don't Always: send “Thank You” cards

I Fight: with my husband…when he is wrong...which is often to always (JK)

I Write: awful (I had to take English 3 times)

I Win: at “rock, paper, scissors”

I Lose: my mind, sometimes

I Never: say my words right

I Can Usually Be Found: in my bedroom(my office is my laptop, on the bed, next to the baby crib)

I Desire: chocolate (yum)

I Need: hugs in the morning from my kids

I Am Happy About: my new, nifty blog!!

Summer Beginnings

It's June! There is just something about the months that start with the letter "J"...they mean summer fun to me! Unfortunately the weather just is not cooperating, but we gave it a try anyway. Valley Medical Center, the hospital I work for, has an annual family fun day. They give two free tickets to each employee, then I beg for four more tickets from coworkers who are not going to attend. This year it was at the Wild Wave Amusement Park in Federal Way. With mine and the donated tickets we have a great FREE family event.

They gave out these collapsible Frisbees.
Anyway, the weather was not IDEAL. It didn't rain...but the sun didn't shine either. We tried to press on. The kids were so excited about the water park that they jumped right in.

But soon decided that the hot tub was the best place too be.

After warming up and drying off we ventured the the amusement park rides! This year Samantha was right on the line for the passing height! She got to ride the big roller coasters and other spinning stuff! Then her and Sean were still small enough to ride the kiddie rides with Seth. I think we got almost every ride in.

Sawyer slept and ate, smiled some and slept again.

You might wonder how come I never have any pictures of Steven...well he is a teenager and if he was around us long enough to actually get a picture of it, it would be like catching a glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster. He did go with us but found some friends and escaped quickly. He and Brian went on a church camp out Friday night. I will post that when I get the pictures. Maybe we can spot Steven in one of them.